Oleg Tymchenko’s team lost a two-goal lead, suffering defeat in overtime.
Kyiv Capitals (Ukraine) – Prizma (Latvia) – 2:3, OT (0:0; 1:0; 1:2; 0:1)
Goals: 1:0 – Tsarkovskyi (Honcharenko), 25:20; 2:0 – Begovs (Hu, – power play), 43:54; 2:1 – Jekimovs (Birins, Ezitis, – power play), 49:50; 2:2 – Jekimovs (Ezitis, – power play), 53:21; 2:3 – Jekimovs (Birins, – power play), 60:59.
Kyiv Capitals: Maksym Duve; Vitalii Andreykiv – Eduards Hugo Jansons, Aleksandrs Novikovs – Lauris Bajaruns – Rustams Begovs; Andrejs Kostjuks – Edmunds Augstkalns (c), Andrii Kryvonozhkin – Denys Honcharenko – Danylo Tsarkovskyi; Oleksii Melnykov – Ivan Shamardin, Yang Hu – Daniil Fursa – Renars Cipruss; Valentyn Sirchenko, Oleksandr Valkun – Denys Plesovskykh – Kristians Zelts.
Head coach: Oleg Tymchenko.
Prizma: Janis Auzins; Arturs Apfelbaums – Roberts Vorona, Matiss Birins – Emils Locmelis – Roberts Jekimovs (c); Rihards Kovalevskis – Valters Apfelbaums, Emils Ezitis – Italo Milbergs – Kristers Bormanis; Krists Apsitis – Toms Barens, Ricardo Valerio Fino David – Ricards Zelenskis – Ricards Stamurs; Kirills Opikovs – Iļja Grekovs, Reinis Virsnitis – Dmitrijs Zaharovs – Gustavs Alberts Moruzs.
Head coach: Eriks Miluns.
In this matchup, Oleg Tymchenko opted for a goaltending rotation. Duve started in the net, and there were also slight adjustments within the forward lines. In particular, the all-Ukrainian second attacking trio of Kryvonozhkin, Honcharenko, and Tsarkovskyi stood out. Novikovs joined the first line, replacing the absent Karsums. Additionally, Saroка and Shirokovs were left out of the lineup, while Plesovskykh returned to the roster.
A tense first period unfolded with early pressure from Prizma after two penalties against the Capitals, but in the second half of the frame, the Kyiv team had four minutes on the power play – yet couldn’t convert.
In the second period, the aforementioned Ukrainian line scored the first goal. Following a bright passing play, Tsarkovskyi beat Auzins with a sharp shot from close range.
In the next 20 minutes, Kyiv managed to capitalize on another man advantage. The team’s top assistant, Begovs, netted his second goal of the season.
The visitors, however, refused to give up. Prizma’s leading scorer, Jekimovs, fired from the blue line to cut the deficit, scoring on the power play. Just 3,5 minutes later, he completed a brace after reacting quickest in front of the net – once again during a man advantage.
The visitors even found the net a third time, but after video review, the goal was disallowed. Thus, for the fourth time this season, a Capitals game was decided in overtime.
Extra time didn’t last long. Bajaruns committed a penalty against Jekimovs, and Roberts struck again – completing a hat-trick and sealing the victory for Prizma on the power play.
As a result, Kyiv Capitals earned just one point, suffering their second overtime home defeat of the season. On Saturday, Oleg Tymchenko’s men will continue their championship campaign with a matchup against HS Riga.
